batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1760-l1783
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg-l1760-l1783
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
passage_locator:
label: THE FISHERMAN AND THE SPRAT / THE BOASTING TRAVELLER / THE CRAB AND HIS MOTHER
/ THE ASS AND HIS SHADOW; lines 1760-1783
start: '1760'
end: '1783'
translation: Aesop's Fables; a new translation
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: In one fable, an Old Crab criticizes her son for walking sideways, but
cannot herself walk straight when asked to demonstrate. In another, a traveller
and an ass's owner quarrel over whether hiring the ass includes use of its shadow;
while they fight, the ass escapes.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: An Old Crab tells her son that he should not walk sideways and ought to walk
straight.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The Young Crab asks his mother to show him how to walk straight and says he
will follow her example.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The Old Crab tries but fails to walk straight, and recognizes that fault-finding
with her child was foolish.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: A man hires an Ass for a summertime journey, with the owner following behind
to drive the animal.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: During a rest in the heat of the day, the traveller wants to lie down in the
Ass's shadow, while the owner also wants to be out of the sun.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: The owner says the traveller hired only the Ass and not its shadow; the traveller
says his bargain gives him control of the Ass for the time being.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The traveller and owner move from words to blows, and the Ass runs away while
they fight.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Old Crab
description: A mother crab who criticizes her son’s sideways walking and then fails
to demonstrate walking straight.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Young Crab
description: The Old Crab’s son, who asks his mother to show the correct way to
walk.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Traveller
description: A man who hires an Ass for a journey and disputes with the owner over
use of the Ass’s shadow.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Ass owner
description: The owner of the hired Ass, who follows behind to drive it and disputes
the traveller’s use of its shadow.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Ass
description: A hired animal whose shadow becomes the subject of dispute and who
runs away while the men fight.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: fault-finding parent unable to model her own instruction
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Old Crab tells her son to walk straight but fails when asked to show
how.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: child requesting example
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The Young Crab asks his mother to demonstrate the instruction he is expected
to follow.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: hirer disputing control of hired animal
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The traveller argues that hiring the Ass gives him control over it for the
time being, including use of its shadow.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: owner disputing terms of hire
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The owner says the traveller hired the Ass only, not its shadow.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: hired animal lost during quarrel
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The Ass runs away while the traveller and owner fight.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: sideways walking
literal_form: The crabs’ sideways manner of walking
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: Ass's shadow
literal_form: The shadow cast by the hired Ass in the heat of the day
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: summertime heat and sun
literal_form: A journey in summertime and a stop in the heat of the day to get out
of the sun
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: The Old Crab fails to demonstrate her precept
summary: The Old Crab tells her son to walk straight; when he asks her to show him
how, she tries and fails, realizing the fault in her criticism.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: The dispute over the Ass's shadow
summary: A traveller hires an Ass, then disputes with the owner over whether he
may use the Ass’s shadow for shade during a hot rest stop.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: The Ass escapes during the fight
summary: The argument between the traveller and owner escalates into blows, and
the Ass runs away while they are fighting.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: example stronger than instruction
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The fable explicitly concludes that example is better than precept after
the Old Crab cannot model the behavior she demands of her son.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage gives a moral lesson rather
than a mythic wisdom episode.
- id: motif:2
label: quarrel over a trivial claim causing greater loss
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The traveller and owner fight over use of the Ass’s shadow, and the Ass escapes
while they are fighting.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The supplied passage does not state an explicit moral for this fable;
the motif label is a concise abstraction from the narrated sequence.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1760-1766
quote_or_summary: In THE CRAB AND HIS MOTHER, the Old Crab criticizes her son’s
sideways walking; the Young Crab asks her to demonstrate straight walking; she
fails and realizes her fault-finding was foolish.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 1770-1776
quote_or_summary: In THE ASS AND HIS SHADOW, a man hires an Ass for a summertime
journey; during a hot rest stop, the traveller wants to lie in the Ass’s shadow
and the owner also wants shade.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 1776-1780
quote_or_summary: The owner claims the hiring covered the Ass but not its shadow,
while the traveller claims control of the Ass for the hired period.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 1780-1783
quote_or_summary: The dispute escalates from words to blows, and the Ass runs away
while the men are fighting.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized evidence.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: line 1768
quote_or_summary: "“Example is better than precept.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/aesops-fables-vernon-jones.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Literal extraction is based directly on the supplied passage. Motif labels
are limited to broad wisdom-pattern abstractions; no comparison claims are made
because the passage itself does not support external comparison.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
Used only supplied passage text and metadata. Available taxonomy refs were applied only where the broad wisdom category was directly supported by fable morals or lesson-like structure.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-aesop-fables-vernon-jones-gutenberg__l1760-l1783
passage_sha256=f261063ef28cc61da54af97d0855a50404a23cad2c65a072f6ef161829f53a0c